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Updated: Apr 30, 2026

3D-Neuronavigation In Vivo Through a Patient's Brain During a Spontaneous Migraine Headache
Published on: June 2, 2014
A tale of two systems: cardiac cephalalgia vs migrainous thoracalgia
Paul G Mathew1, Christopher J Boes, Ivan Garza
1Department of Neurology, John R. Graham Headache Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Division of Neurology, Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Insights
Headaches can signal heart problems (cardiac cephalalgia), and chest pain may indicate neurological issues like atypical migraine aura. This study highlights these complex cardiac and neurologic interactions.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Cardiology
- Internal Medicine
Background:
- Headache diagnosis requires excluding secondary causes, often involving non-neurologic systems.
- Cardiac conditions can manifest as headaches (cardiac cephalalgia).
- Neurologic conditions, such as atypical migraine aura, can present as chest pain.
Observation:
- Presents cases of atypical headache presentations.
- Demonstrates the interplay between cardiac and neurologic pathologies.
- Highlights unusual symptoms linking the heart and brain.
Findings:
- Cardiac pathology can present as headache.
- Neurologic conditions can manifest as chest pain.
- Atypical presentations challenge typical diagnostic pathways for both headache and chest pain.
Implications:
- Clinicians must consider cross-system pathologies in diagnosis.
- Broadens understanding of referred symptoms between cardiac and neurologic systems.
- Emphasizes the importance of comprehensive patient evaluation beyond organ-specific assumptions.
Abstract:
The practice of headache medicine is challenging, and excluding secondary causes of headaches is essential for proper diagnosis and treatment. The evaluation of secondary headaches often leads to investigations involving organ systems other than the nervous system. As such, headache, which is typically thought to be neurologic in origin, can be a manifestation of cardiac pathology in the form of cardiac cephalalgia. Conversely, chest pain, which is typically thought to be cardiac in origin, could be a manifestation of a neurologic disease process in the form of atypical migraine aura. In the presented cases, we demonstrate headaches that involve cardiac and neurologic pathology with atypical presentations.
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